Monday, 26 August 2013

Real Me vs Virtual Me






When I look at my photographs with my friends, family and loved ones, over many years on my Facebook profiles, I feel that these are, in many ways, a self-narrative of my life.

But these photos are specifically selected pictures chosen specifically to represent myself.  If I am tagged in a photo that I feel is hideous or non-flattering, I will un-tag it immediately and have it removed from my profile because "aint nobody got time for that". (Van Luyn 2013)

My Facebook narrative which is a story and profile for each person on Facebook and becomes their story, narrative and map of their life.  But is it the "authentic" narrative of any person's life?

I refer you to the following link for an interesting interpretation of an Authentic Narrative.

While Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg proclaims "you can't be on Facebook without being your authentic self" (cited in McNeill, 2012, P.104), but what does being your 'authentic self' mean?

According to Van Luyn, in the context of a virtual network, you are not the only person constructing our identity. (Van Luyn 2013). When someone sets up their Facebook profile, questions are asked such as relationship status, interest and hobbies. These are all choices and options compiled by Facebook. If any of the questions are not relevant, the only option is to leave it blank, and no room is left for explanation or further questions.

Arguably, anyone can be authentic, but only within the confines of what meets the "norm" of the Facebook world.

In relation to the social networking site that I have been observing over the last few weeks (The Mount Isa Vent Page), I have not showed my authentic self on the network. On numerous occasions, I have observed online bullying and have done nothing about it. I have not commented or tried to stand up for the one being bullied but if that was a real life situation, I would intervene straight away. So does this mean I lack integrity as Mark Zuckerberg claims in McNeil (2012)? Arguably, I believe that whenever I think that it counts, I would do the right thing and intervene on behalf of the person bullied.

I would argue that my real and virtual presence has integrity, I believe the the virtual me is more comfortable remaining quiet as more of an observer.




Reference:

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place, Week 4 Notes. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.learnjcu.edu.au

McNeil, L. (2012). There si no "I" in network: Social networking sites and post human auto/biography. Biography 35 (1). 104-108.


Image credits:
http://www.bforbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/pinterest.jpg

2 comments:

  1. Hi Carmen

    Its interesting how you posts here are also creating a narrative of your journey in the FB group :)

    You noted the power dynamics and differentials between users in your previous post, but I definitely get the feeling you're interrogating the role of the observer in a much more sophisticated way here. There's definitely a moral aspect to the role of the observer. And to be honest I've witnessed people saying stuff online (people I don't know) and done nothing and I know that if I'd have heard someone say the same thing in the street, i would have steped in. Often, in forums & such, I'll just dismiss stuff as random anonymous idiots, just being idiots online.

    There's so much, ranting, anger, trolling hatespeech, etc on the internet; it seems like sometimes people forget any form of etiquette or civility when they are angry and behind a screen. People often forget that words, especially in the form of replies to things someone's posted, prompt real emotional responses. Even when we post under pseudonyms we are often communicating our own "real" thoughts and opinions, and it's annoying/anger-provoking/hurtful/etc when people attack our thoughts/opinions/us. Its like a stranger making a mean comment to you in public. The opposite is also true - we get a small emotional boost when someone agrees with/compliments our ideas/opinions/etc - like when a stranger pays you a compliment.

    good stuff :)

    Keep it up :)

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  2. Hi Carmen, I really enjoyed your post. Like you, I feel that Facebook is a type of narrative or a map of my life; or as you point out, at least those parts of my life that I am willing to share. Although I agree that there is a tendency for people to present the best version of themselves online, I’m not sure how different this is to the ‘real world’. It's just that in life we don't have a delete button when we slip up in public, so in a way maybe we have more power over how we want to represent ourselves on Facebook? You also cite Van Luyn (2013) in your blog, noting the interactive nature of networked narratives, but maybe this “coproduced collaboration between individual users and their networks” (McNeil, 2012, p.107) is replicated in real life too, in the form of sharing of stories (or gossip) between our real life networks, which also adds to the way we perceive people?

    T :)


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